After nearly a month, the Prime Minister’s office responded to the letter and, in an email, a correspondence manager wrote:

I am writing on behalf of the Prime Minister, Rt Hon Bill English, to acknowledge your email of 29 December 2016 concerning your letter from 28 representative Jewish and non-Jewish organisations with over 800 supporting individual signatures on the UNSC resolution on Israel. Please be assured your comments have been noted.

We are forwarding a copy of your correspondence to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon Murray McCully, for his consideration.

Thank you for writing to the Prime Minister.”Office of the Prime Minister of New Zealand

…we have got a realistic understanding of the pressures in the Middle East. That’s why in our time on the Security Council we wanted to see some advancement on the Middle East peace process. And the resolution in that sense is pretty balanced. Bill English

Prime Minister English then said that “New Zealand has been a long time friend of Israel”.

The historical evidence for this statement is not compelling. Certainly, co-sponsoring a one-sided resolution, along with undemocratic states Malaysia, Senegal and Venezuela, two of which have no diplomatic relations with Israel, is a strange way to show friendship. The fact remains that Israel is a tiny democracy in the Middle East, which, unlike any of its neighbours, shares liberal values with New Zealand.

The government’s response so far, to all those New Zealanders who have written letters to MPs, signed petitions, marched on Parliament and written to newspapers has been wholly inadequate. Israel’s genuine friends want to hear from the government as to how and why New Zealand co-sponsored an unbalanced, one-sided resolution that went well beyond any signalled New Zealand policy or position and undermines the peace process. At the same time, it would be good to understand how the government plans to repair its relationship with Israel. It’s not enough for the Prime Minister to simply wish for a “positive relationship with Israel with the potential for further positive development of it.” Active steps need to be taken.

Shalom.Kiwi’s contributors are a mix of Māori, Pakeha, Jewish and non-Jewish New Zealanders, who have all spent considerable time in Israel. http://shalom.kiwi/